Merciful Enemy
by John Silver fan
Summary: Ahsoka finds kindness and protection in Count Dooku when the two are brought together by a ruthless bounty hunter. Dooku takes her torture to protect her as well as his own. Will they be rescued in time, or will the Count perish from the torture?
1. Chapter 1

Ahsoka was roughly thrown into the Force shielded cell. She glared at Nhilius as the bounty hunter left. She turned and froze.

In the corner sat Count Dooku. He looked to be in far worse shape than she was. His clothes were ripped and stained with blood, his bottom lip recently split, his nose was bleeding, and his face covered in bruises. She guessed the rest of his body was no different.

The elderly Count turned his dark eyes to young Tortugan.

"Skywalker's Padawan. What at surprise."

His eyes that she was used to seeing afire with anger and sometimes hatred were dull with pain and hopelessness. He had been there for a long time, for the Nhilius had somehow crushed the former Jedi's spirit.

She shivered from the cold of the ship.

"Come here, young one, so you won't be so cold."

Ahsoka slowly crawled over to the Sith Lord, the need for heat making her sit beside the big man.

Dooku put his cape around her and pulled her to him, allowing to her take some much needed heat from his body. His spirit was crushed, his Sith spirit at least. His old Jedi spirit was coming through again, still as strong as ever. He would help the girl beside him to the best of his ability.

*******

Ahsoka looked up to see Dooku being dragged back to their cell by some guards. The Count was thrown to the floor, and Ahsoka hurried over to him.

His back was bleeding from the lashes he had been given, his body bruised from the beating of the club, patches of skin burned from the electropole and heated rod.

The girl felt at loss of what to do and prayed for her Master to rescue them, unsure of how much longer Dooku would survive. He was taking her torture as well as his own. He was beaten nearly to death each day.

His lifeforce was weak, and Ahsoka didn't know what to do. She had grown close to the Count over the past week and couldn't bear the thought of him dying for her.

_Hurry, Master. Please find us._

She did her best to heal Dooku some, but it didn't do much.

The young Padawan stayed up all night, keeping watch over her noble protector and friend.


	2. Rescue

Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon, Commnder Cody, Captain Rex, and several other clone troopers finally located Nihilus's base and launched their surprise attack.

Obi-Wan took most of the clones to keep Nihilus and his men busy, while Anakin, Plo, and Rex, went to find Ahsoka.

"I sense Count Dooku, Masters," the Knight said, feeling the Force signature of the man who had taken his arm two years before.

"Then we must careful, Skywalker," the Kel Dor Master said.

The trio made their way to the prison sector, taking out any guards along the way.

They finally found Ashoka sitting in her cell.

"Ashoka!"

Anakin unlocked her cell and embraced his Padawan when she ran into his arms.

"Dooku! We have to find him and help him!"

"Help him?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"He's been protecting me. He's not evil anymore. Master, please, he'll _die_ if we don't help him."

Anakin, Plo, and Rex looked at each other.

"I say leave him for the bounty hunter. No less that what he deserves," Rex said.

"But Ahsoka said that he's helped and protected her, taking her torture as wel as his own. I believe her. What do you say, Master Koon?"

The Kel Dor thought for a moment.

"I knew Dooku quite well while he was a Jedi. I can detect no darkness about his Force signature. I believe that his dark spirit may have been crushed by the torture he had been put through before Ashoka was captured, and now his Jedi spirit had taken over once more."

He nodded once.

"I agree with Ahsoka. We shall rescue him."

********

Plo Koon led the way to the torture chamber, following Doku's weak Force signature. Soon they reached the chamber.

Dooku was tied to a post and being whipped mercilessly.

Ahsoka gasped quietly as she watched her new friend be beaten and Plo, Anakin, and Rex burned with anger at the cruelty and injustice.

The whip was discarded and replaced with an electropole. The tormentor ran the weapon down the Count's ribcage, causing the elderly man to arch and scream in pain.

Plo couldn't stand watching his old friend suffer any longer. Lightsaber blazing, the Kel Dor charged into the room. With one quick swing, the tormentor was cleaved in half at the waist.

Anakin, Ahsoka, and Rex hurried over to help free the former Sith.

"Plo?" Dooku sad weakly, as if talking to a dream.

His voice was hoarse and raspy.

"Take it easy, Tyln. We're going to get you out of here."

They hurried back to their ship, comming Obi-Wan to tell him that they were ready.

*******

Ahsoka watched at the ship's medical droid tended to Dooku.

Rex and Plo Koon appeared at her side.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, kid. He survived through all that torture, after all."

Plo nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. I will guarantee you this, Ashoka; Tyln Dooku is a strong man. He's strong in will, mind, spirit, and body. He has been near death several times during his life. Close encounters with death are not new or strange to him. He'll pull through. He always has."


	3. Chapter 3

Master Yoda sat in the meditation chambers at the Jedi Temple.

Mace Windu came in and sat across from him.

"Come home Tyln has," the tiny Master said without opening his eyes.

Once strong enough to speak, Dooku had agreed to rejoin the Jedi. He would soon be back at the temple and turned over into the care of the Healers.

"Yes. It'll be good to have him back home," Mace agreed.

Master Yoda opened his eyes and looked at Mace.

"Troubled by his past with the Darkside he still is. Let go of and overcome this help him we must. Do it alone he cannot. His friend you are. Seek your help, like mine, he will."

The younger Master nodded.

"I will help him in anyway I can."

********

Once Dooku was healed, he began meditating with Master Yoda and Mace, trying to overcome and let go of his shame of his past with the Sith.

Most days of the past month, he had meditated with Master Yoda, Mace, or sometimes both in the meditation chambers, but not today. Today he sat alone in Master Yoda's quarters, which he shared with his old Mentor as he had when a Padawan, sleeping in his old room. He knelt in the main room, his eyes closed, sinking into a meditative trance.

As flashbacks of his past with the Sith battered his mind like they always did, something happened instead of him jerking out of meditation.

_Remember the good times. Give your negative feelings and memories to the Force. Reach for the Light._

Dooku obeyed the ghostly voice, remembering all his good memories, giving his negative memories and feelings to the Force, and lunging greedily for the Light.

The Darkside left him completely, and he snapped out of his trance with a gasp.

Then he realized he knew the voice that had spoken in his head. One name, a name he held dear and treasured, escaped his lips.

"Qui-Gon."


End file.
